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Incarnations and Expansions of the Lord

Lord Caitanya explained to Sanatana Gosvami that the expansions of
Lord Krsna who come to the material creation are called avataras. The
word 'avatara' means 'one who descends' (from Sanskrit
avatarati) and in this case the word specifically refers to one
who descends from the spiritual sky. In the spiritual sky there are
innumerable Vaikuntha planets, and from these planets the expansions
of the Supreme Personality of Godhead come into this universe.

Sometimes the word 'incarnation' (lit. 'one who entered flesh', ie.
accepted a material body) is used but this word from the theological
point of view specifically refers to Jesus. Srimad Bhagavatam
5.5.19 describes the body of the Lord as 'durvibhavya', materially
inconceivable, since it may sometimes seem to be material or
the Lord may manifest a material body for some purpose if it is
required in the lila (like when He 'left His body' at the end of
Dvaraka-lila). This type of body shouldn't be mistaken as a usual
human body. Also, humans and other jivas cannot themselves manifest
avataras (if they are endowed with specific potency, they are called
saktyavesa-avataras though). Using this word for icons in internet
forums, etc., is therefore incorrect. ;)

There are six kinds of incarnations: (1) the purusa-avataras, (2)
the lila-avataras, (3) the guna-avataras, (4) the manvantara-avataras,
(5) the yuga-avataras, and (6) the saktyavesa-avataras.

Lord Caitanya explains some of them to Sanatana Gosvami just to
give him an idea of how the Lord expands and enjoys. These conclusions
are also confirmed in Srimad-Bhagavatam (1.3.26). There it is said
that there is no limit to the incarnations of the Supreme Lord, just
as there is no limit to the waves of the ocean.

Dasavataras

Q: Lord Buddha described as one of the Dasavataras and as a
saktyavesa avatara. Which is correct? What kind of avatar is Lord
Ramacandra?

A: Both are correct. The word "dasavatara" or "dasa-avatara"
denotes not a category of avataras like yuga-, lila-, manvantara-, or
other avataras but the most famous list of ten avataras (in Sanskrit
"dasa" = "10"). This list is to be found e.g. in Garuda Purana
1.86.10-11 (or, according to other numbering, 2.30.37). There are
other lists as well, like 25 avataras in Bhagavata Purana 1.3 but
these ten are the most popular ones. They are often depicted by
artists and celebrated by poets like Jayadeva Gosvami in his Dasavatara-stotra.

Saktyavesa-avataras is a category of avataras who are not
visnu-tattva but jiva-tattva (jivas, or living beings, empowered for a
special mission).

The system of avatara categories is quite complex and some avataras
belong to more than one category. If you wish to delve into this
technical topic, consult books like Caitanya-caritamrta by Krsnadasa
Kaviraja Gosvami (published and distributed by ISKCON),
Laghu-bhagavatamrta by Rupa Gosvami, etc.

Dasavataras are practically all lila-avataras (some are more than
that, like Krsna, who is avatari, the source of all avataras). Sri
Rama is the famous lila-avatara, also listed among those 25 in
Bhagavata Purana. His lila is described in the epic Ramayana.

Purusa-avataras and their expansions

Krsna first incarnates as the three purusa-avataras, namely the
Maha-Visnu or Karanodakasayi avatara, the Garbhodakasayi avatara and
the Ksirodakasayi avatara. This is confirmed in the Satvata-tantra
[specified as Naradiya tantra in Bhavartha-dipika 2.6.38 by Sridhara
Svami, see also SB 1.3.8]:

"For material creation, Lord Krsna's plenary expansion assumes
three Visnus. The first one, Maha Visnu, creates the total material
energy, known as mahat-tattva. The second, Garbhodakasayi Visnu,
enters into all the universes to create diversities in each of them.
The third, Ksirodakasayi Visnu, is diffused as the all-pervading
Supersoul in all the universes and is known as Paramatma. He is
present even within the atoms. Anyone who knows these three Visnus can
be liberated from material entanglement." (Satvata-tantra quoted in
Bg. 7.4 purport)

"Observing that Lord Ksirodakasayi Visnu's crown had been stolen by
the demons, Garuda attacked the thieves, killed them, and recovered
the Lord's crown. As all this was happening, Lord Ksirodakasayi Visnu
descended to the earth where Lord Krsna was performing His pastimes,
and entered Lord Krsna's body. In this way Lord Ksirodakasayi Visnu
appeared during Lord Krsna's incarnation. Garuda, trying the return
the crown, was unable to find his master in the spiritual world. He
finally found Ksirodakasayi Visnu manifested within the form of Lord
Krsna (who was then enjoying pastimes on the peak of Gomanta
Mountain). Garuda then returned his master's crown." (Hari-vamsa,
Visnu-parva, chapter 41)

Brahmavaivarta Purana 4.67.55-58 (all three mentioned, along with
their Laksmis, as mahat-virat/Mahavisnu, ksudra-virat/Garbhodakasayi
Visnu and the one who resides in the pore of
ksudra-virat/Ksirodakasayi Visnu, 57):

Krsna is the original Personality of Godhead. His expansion is
Balarama, who expands the original catur vyuha or quadruple
expansions.

1) Vasudeva 2) Sankarsana 3) Pradyumna 4) Aniruddha

These original catur vyuha expansions reside in Mathura and
Dvaraka. From them twenty four forms of Visnu expand. They are named
differently according to the arrangement of the conch, disc, lotus and
club in Their hands. All of these twenty four forms reside in each
Vaikuntha planet with the predominating Deity of that planet. From the
original catur vyuha the second catur vyuha expands. In this second
catur vyuha the form of Sankarsana is also called Maha Sankarsana. It
is from Maha Sankarsana that Maha Visnu becomes manifested.

1) MAHA VISNU lies on the Causal Ocean which appears in one corner
of the spiritual world. He manifests the mahat tattva (or the sum
total of material energy). It is into this mahat tattva that He
exhales all of the seedlike universes through the pores of His skin.
These seedlike universes then expand as the different material
elements form coverings around them. Each of the coverings is ten
times thicker than the previous covering and form a shell-like
covering. When Maha Visnu impregnates the living entities by His
glance into the material nature it begins to manifest its various
energies.

2) When the universes have thus developed in the womb of material
nature, Maha Visnu expands as GARBHODAKASAYI VISNU, Who enters into
each universe with the living entities of that particular universe and
thus activates each universe by His presence. He lies down on Ananta
Sesa who lies on the Garbha ocean, which is the perspiration from the
Lord's body and half fills the universe. From His navel comes a lotus
bud which is the total form of the living entities' fruitive activity.
The lotus grows dissipating the darkness of the universe. On top of
the lotus Brahma, the first living being appears. Situated on the
lotus, Brahma could not understand anything. He began entering the
stem and climbed down to find its origin. Not finding anything, Brahma
again returned to the top of the lotus where he heard the word ta-pa
(austerity). Hearing the sound Brahma underwent penance for one
thousand celestial years; (6x30x12x1000 earthly years). Being very
pleased with Brahma's tapasya, the Lord manifested the Vaikuntha
planets to him. Seeing Vaikuntha, Brahma became very happy and bowed
to the Lord. Being very pleased with Brahma the Lord shakes his hand
and reveals how to create the universe.

3) To maintain the universe Garbhodakasayi Visnu expands as
KSIRODAKASAYI VISNU, Who is the all-pervading Supersoul (Paramatma).
By His entering into every atom He maintains the whole universe. His
abode is Svetadvipa, an island in the ocean of milk.

Krsna's energies can also be divided into three: His energy of
thinking feeling and acting. When He exhibits His thinking energy, He
is the Supreme Lord; when He exhibits His feeling energy, He is Lord
Vasudeva; when He exhibits His acting energy, He is Sankarsana
Balarama. Without His thinking, feeling and acting, there would be no
possibility of creation. Although there is no creation in the
spiritual world - for there the planets are beginningless - there is
creation in the material world. In either case, however, both the
spiritual and material worlds are manifestations of the energy of
acting, in which Krsna acts in the form of Sankarsana and
Balarama.

During Brahma's one day there are twenty-five Lila-avataras also
known as Kalpa avataras because they appear in every Kalpa. Out of
these, the incarnation of Hamsa and Mohini are not permanent, but
Kapila, Dattatreya, Rsabha, Dhanvantari and Vyasa are five eternal
forms, and they are more celebrated. The incarnations of the tortoise
Kurma, the fish Matsya, Nara-narayana, Varaha, Hayasirsa, Prsnigarbha,
and Balarama are considered to be vaibhava-avataras.

1) Catuhsana - The four Kumaras, sons of Lord Brahma

They appeared in the beginning of creation and are specifically
empowered to distribute transcendental knowledge. They are empowered
with the Lord's jnana-sakti and therefore they are also known as
saktyavesa-avataras.

2) Narada Muni - The son of Lord Brahma

He is empowered with the Lord's bhakti-sakti and therefore he is
also saktyavesa-avatara.

3) Varahadeva - Sukara or the Boar incarnation

The Boar incarnation appeared in two different millenniums. During
the period of Svayambhuva Manu, the earthly planet remained submerged
in the water of devastation, so the Lord appeared as a white boar and
lifted the earth and set it properly. During the period of Caksusa
Manu Lord Boar was red and He killed the demon Hiranyaksa.

4) Matsya - The Fish incarnation

He appeared to show special mercy to Satyavrata Muni. After the
period of Caksusa Manu when there was a partial inundation, he also
protected Satyavrata Muni (who later became Vaivasvata Manu) by
keeping him safe on a boat.

5) Yajna - The son of Prajapati Ruci and Akuti

During the period of Svayambhuva Manu there was no qualified Indra.
So the Lord appeared as Yajna and took that position.

6) Nara Narayana - The twin sons of King Dharma and Murti

They are partial expansions of Krsna and Arjuna. Nara and Narayana
Rsis exhibited the Lord's renunciation.

7) Kapiladeva - The son of Kardama Muni and Devahuti

He explained the original (personal) Sankhya philosophy. Kapiladeva
exhibited the Lord's transcendental knowledge.

8) Dattatreya - The son of Atri Muni and Anasuya

He is a combined incarnation of Lord Visnu, Brahma and Siva. He
spoke on the subject of transcendence to Alarka, Prahlada, Yadu,
etc.

9) Hayasirsa - Lord Hayagriva

At the end of the millennium ignorance personified took the form of
a demon, stole the Vedas and took them to the planet Rasatala. At that
time the Lord, at the request of Brahma, retrieved them after assuming
the form of a horse.

10) Hamsa - The Swan incarnation

Due to bewilderment, Brahma, could not answer some questions put
forward by his sons. At that time the Lord appeared as a swan and
answered the questions.

11) Prsnigarbha - The incarnation who appeared before Dhruva

He created the planet known as Dhruvaloka for the habitation of
Dhruva Maharaja.

12) Rsabha - The son of King Nabhi and Merudevi

His oldest son was Bharata Maharaja of which the earth was named
after as Bharat-varsa. He instructed his sons to follow the path of
perfection by tapasya (asceticism).

13) Prthu - The incarnation of the Lord's ruling force

Due to the demonic nature of King Vena, the sages killed him by a
curse. They prayed for the Lord to appear and churned the two arms of
the dead body according to a specific method and the Lord appeared as
Prthu.

14) Nrsimhadeva - The half-man half-lion incarnation

He appeared to protect Prahlada by killing his demoniac father
Hiranyakasipu. Sri Nrsimha manifests various bhavas, mostly wrathful
but also peaceful ones (like some of His murtis in Ahobilam or Santa
Nrsimha in Puri). Gaudiya Vaisnava siddhanta about Sri Nrsimha
appearing in this universe is that He's not a form of Sri Visnu
residing in one of Vaikunthas but directly Sri Krsna. His lila
manifests only in the material realm, although perpetually and in that
sense is also eternal (Prahlada Maharaja worships Krsna, not Narayana.
Nrsimha Purana 41.36 says that on his slate he has written the name
'Krsna' and he remembers Krsna nama.). This is hinted on in SB 3.24.33
p., last par., and BG 4.8. He personifies this BG verse.
nrsimha-rama-krsnesu sad-gunyam paripuritam: "In Narasimha,
Rama and Krsna, all the six opulences (strength, wealth, renunciation,
splendor, energy, wisdom) are fully manifest." (Padma Purana, quoted
by Srila Rupa Gosvami in Laghu-bhagavatamrta 1.5.16)

Srila Bhaktivinoda Thakura has written five beautiful prayers in
"Sri Navadvipa Bhava Taranga" for receiving the mercy of Lord Nrsimha.
These prayers are certainly assurance to all sincere devotees that the
worship of Lord Nrsimha is purely in the line of aspiring love and
devotion to Sri Sri Radha and Krsna.

e dusta hrdaye kama adi ripu chaya
kutinati pratisthasa sathya sada raya
hrdaya-sodhana ara krsnera vasana
nrsimha-carane mora ei to' kamana
Within my sinful heart the six enemies headed by lust perpetually
reside, as well as duplicity, the desire for fame, plus sheer cunning.
At the lotus feet of Lord Narasimha, I hope that He will mercifully
purify my heart and give me the desire to serve Lord Krsna.kandiya nrsimha-pade magibo kakhana
nirapade navadvipe jugala-bhajana
bhaya bhaya paya yan'ra darsane se hari
prasanna hoibo kabe more daya kari
Weeping, I will beg at the lotus-feet of Lord Narasimha for the
benediction of worshipping Radha and Krsna in Navadvipa, perfectly
safe and free from all difficulties. When will this Lord Hari, whose
terrible form strikes fear into fear itself, ever become pleased and
show me His mercy?yadyapi bhisana murti dusta-jiva-prati
prahladadi krsna-bhakta-jane bhadra ati
kabe va prasanna ho'ye sa krpa-vacane
nirbhaya karibe ei mudha akincane
Even though Lord Narasimha is terrifying toward the sinful souls, He
offers great auspiciousness unto the devotees of Lord Krsna headed by
Prahlada Maharaja. When will He be pleased to speak words of
compassion unto me, a worthless fool, and thereby make me fearless?svacchande baiso he vatsa sri-gauranga-dhame
jugala-bhajana hau rati hau name
mama bhakta-krpa-bale vighna jabe dura
suddha cite bhajo radha-krsna-rasa-pura
He will say, "Dear child! Sit down freely and live happily here in Sri
Gauranga-dhama. May you nicely worship the Divine Couple, and may you
develop loving attachment for Their Holy Names. By the mercy of My
devotees, all obstacles are cast far away. With a purified heart, just
perform the worship of Radha and Krsna, for such worship overflows
with sweet nectar."ei boli' kabe mora mastaka-upara
sviya sri-carana harse dharibe isvara
amani jugala-preme sattvika vikare
dharaya lutibo ami sri-nrsimha-dvare
Saying this, will that Lord delightedly place His own divine
lotus-feet upon my head? I will experience sublime love for the Divine
Couple Radha-Krsna and undergo the ecstatic transformations called
sattvika. Falling on the ground, I will roll about at the door of Sri
Narasimha's temple. (Srila Bhaktivinoda Thakura, Sri Navadvipa Bhava
Taranga 36-40) Bhaktivinoda Thakura prays to Sri Nrsimhadeva to
clear his path to Radha Krsna worship. He wouldn't be praying to the
equivalent of an "ordinary" Visnu tattva in Vaikuntha for entrance
into Goloka. Another argument against the identity of the two
Nrsimhas is that the Pancaratra texts identify the Nrsimha avatara of
the dasavatara as manifesting from Sankarsana: haris sankarsanamsena
narasimha-vapur dharah (Padma tantra 1.2.31 and Visnu-dharmottara
Purana 3.78(2).5-7) However, the vyuha Nrsimha is manifested from
Pradyumna (CC Madhya 20.206).
Related: Nrsimha murtis and lilas

15) Kurma - The Tortoise incarnation

He appeared to become the resting place of the Mandara Hill, used
as a churning rod by the demons and demigods to produce nectar.

16) Dhanvantari - The father of Ayurveda

He appeared from the ocean of milk with the pot of nectar.

17) Mohini - The Lord's form of a beautiful woman

The Lord tricked the demons by appearing in the form of a beautiful
woman and asked the demons for the nectar and distributed it to the
demigods.

18) Vamanadeva - The dwarf incarnation, son of Kasyapa Muni and
Aditi

Assuming the form of a dwarf brahmacari the Lord visited the fire
sacrifice of Bali Maharaja. He begged three steps of land and with
those steps He took the whole universe. He is the son of Kasyapa and
Aditi.

19) Parasurama - Bhrgupati, the son of Jamadagni Muni and
Renuka

He annihilated the ksatriyas twenty-one times because of their
rebellion against the brahmanas.

20) Raghavendra - Lord Ramacandra, son of King Dasaratha and
Kausalya

He came to perform pleasing work for the demigods, protect His
devotees and kill Ravana and his followers. The Lord assumed the form
of a human being and exhibited superhuman powers by controlling the
Indian Ocean.

21) Vyasadeva - The son of Parasara Muni and Satyavati

He divided the one Veda into several branches and sub-branches,
seeing that the people in general were becoming less intelligent.

22) Lord Balarama - The first plenary expansion of the Lord

He acts as Lord Krsna's older brother in Their pastimes in
Vrndavana.

23) Lord Krsna - The original form of the Lord

Both Balarama and Krsna appeared in the family of Vrsni (Yadu
dynasty) and in doing so removed the burden of the world.

24) Buddha - The son of Anjana

He appeared in the province of Gaya in the beginning of Kali-yuga
to delude those who are inimical to the faithful. He also appeared to
stop animal slaughter in the name of Vedic sacrifices by preaching
non-violence and by not accepting Vedic authorities. There is also
another Buddha incarnation mentioned in another Kali-yuga when Lord
appeared to bewilder the demons who were destroying the inhabitants of
other planets by flying unseen in space ships made by the demon
Maya.

25) Kalki - The son of brahmana Visnu-yasa

He will appear in the village Sambhala at the end of Kali-yuga. He
will mount a horse, Devadatta, and taking His sword, will kill
millions upon millions of degraded barbarian humans. He will also
commence Satya-yuga.

Guna-avataras
(incarnations of the qualitative modes of nature)

They are Brahma (rajo-guna), Visnu (sattva-guna) and Siva
(tamo-guna). Brahma is one of the living entities, but due to his
devotional service he is very powerful. This primal living entity,
master of the mode of material passion, is directly empowered by the
Garbhodakasayi Visnu to create innumerable living entities. In
Brahma-samhita (5.49) Brahma is likened to valuable jewels influenced
by the rays of the sun, and the sun is likened to the Supreme Lord
Garbhodakasayi Visnu. If in some kalpa there is no suitable living
entity capable of acting in Brahma's capacity, Garbhodakasayi Visnu
Himself manifests as Brahma and acts accordingly.

Similarly, by expanding Himself as Lord Siva, the Supreme Lord is
engaged when there is a need to annihilate the universe. Lord Siva, in
association with maya, has many forms, which are generally numbered at
eleven. (They are not, technically speaking, avataras since this term
is used only for Sri Visnu's manifestations. Hanuman is an expansion
of Siva, Siva-amsa. He is not a jiva.) Lord Siva is not one of the
living entities; he is a transformation of Krsna Himself. The example
of milk and yogurt is often given in this regard - yogurt is a
preparation of milk, but still yogurt cannot be used as milk.
Similarly, Lord Siva is an expansion of Krsna, but he cannot act as
Krsna, nor can we derive the spiritual restoration from Lord Siva that
we derive from Krsna. The essential difference is that Lord Siva has a
connection with material nature, but Visnu or Lord Krsna has nothing
to do with material nature. In Srimad-Bhagavatam (10.88.3) it is
stated that Lord Siva is a combination of three kinds of transformed
consciousness known as vaikarika, taijasa and tamasa.

The Visnu incarnation, although master of the modes of goodness
within each universe, is in no way in touch with the influence of
material nature. Although Visnu is equal to Krsna, Krsna is the
original source. Visnu is a part, but Krsna is the whole. This is the
version given by Vedic literatures. In Brahma-samhita the example is
given of an original candle which lights a second candle. Although
both candles are of equal power, one is accepted as the original, and
the other is said to be kindled from the original. The Visnu expansion
is like the second candle. He is as powerful as Krsna, but the
original Visnu is Krsna. Brahma and Lord Siva are obedient servants of
the Supreme Lord, and the Supreme Lord as Visnu is an expansion of
Krsna.

Manvantara-avataras

There are fourteen manvantara-avataras who appear during the
fourteen ruling periods of Manus (manvantaras) in one day of Brahma
(kalpa). They are unlimited in number. Each manvantara is presided
over by different Indra.

Out of these fourteen manvantara-avataras, Yajna and Vamana are
also lila-avataras. These fourteen manvantara-avataras are also known
as vaibhava-avataras.

In SB 3.11.27 and 4.24.42 p. manvantara-avataras are confused with
Manus as seen also from SB 1.3.5 p. Yajna is the manvantara-avatara in
Svayambhuva Manu's reign, Vibhu is the manvantara-avatara in Svarocisa
Manu's reign, and so on as per SB 8.13, CC 2.20.246 p., 2.20.319.

During each manvantara, in the Dvapara-yuga of each divya-yuga
(maha-yuga), different sages accept the position of Vyasa or the
compiler of the Vedas, Puranas, etc. In the Vaivasvata manvantara
there were until now 28 Vyasas (Visnu Purana 3.3 - 3.4.5; this
Purana is not spoken by Vyasa but by his father Parasara Muni:
1.1.26, 1.2.7-8, 3.4.3, 6.8.2-4,12):

In the next Dvapara-yuga the Vyasa will be Asvatthama, the son of
Drona.

Yuga-avataras

The four yuga-avataras are also described in Srimad-Bhagavatam. In
the Satya-yuga, the incarnation of God is white; in the Treta-yuga He
is red; in the Dvapara-yuga, He is blackish; and in the Kali-yuga He
is also blackish, but sometimes, in a special Kali-yuga, His color is
yellowish as in the case of Caitanya Mahaprabhu.

This particular incarnation of the Supreme Personality of Godhead
is foretold in Srimad-Bhagavatam (11.5.32):

"In the age of Kali the Lord incarnates as a devotee, yellowish in
color, and is always chanting Hare Krsna, Hare Krsna, Krsna Krsna,
Hare Hare/ Hare Rama, Hare Rama, Rama Rama, Hare Hare. Although He is
Krsna, His complexion is not blackish like Krsna's in Dvapara-yuga but
is golden. It is in Kali-yuga that the Lord engages in preaching love
of Godhead through the sankirtana movement, and those living entities
who are intelligent adopt this process of self-realization."

Saktyavesa-avataras

There is no limit to the saktyavesa-avataras. The saktyavesa
incarnations are of two kinds - direct and indirect. When the Lord
Himself comes, He is called saksat, or a direct saktyavesa-avatara,
and when He empowers some living entity to represent Him that living
entity is called an indirect or avesa incarnation.

Examples of direct or saksad-avataras are the Sesa incarnation and
the Ananta incarnation. In Ananta the power for sustaining all planets
is invested, and in the Sesa incarnation the power for serving the
Supreme Lord is invested.

Examples of indirect avataras are the four Kumaras, Narada, Prthu
and Parasurama. These are actually living entities, but there is
specific power given to them by the Supreme Personality of Godhead.
When a specific opulence of the Supreme Lord is invested in specific
entities, they are called avesa-avataras. The four Kumaras
specifically represent the Supreme Lord's opulence of knowledge.
Narada represents the devotional service of the Supreme Lord.
Devotional service is also represented by Lord Caitanya, who is
considered to be the full representation of devotional service. In
Brahma the opulence of creative power is invested, and in King Prthu
the power for maintaining the living entities is invested. Similarly,
in Parasurama the power for killing evil elements is invested.

As far as vibhuti, or the special favor of the Supreme Personality
of Godhead, is concerned, it is described in the Tenth Chapter of
Bhagavad-gita that a living entity who appears to be especially
powerful or beautiful should be known to be especially favored by the
Supreme Lord.

Recognizing the real avatara

When Lord Caitanya described the incarnation for this age of Kali,
Sanatana Gosvami, who had been a government minister and was perfectly
capable of drawing conclusions, directly asked of the Lord, "How can
one understand the advent of an incarnation?" By the description of
the incarnation for the Kali millennium, Sanatana Gosvami could
understand that Lord Caitanya was indeed that incarnation of Krsna,
and he could also understand that in the future there would be many
people who would try to imitate Lord Caitanya.

"As one can understand the different incarnations for different
millenniums by referring to Vedic literature," the Lord
replied, "one can similarly understand who is actually the incarnation
of Godhead in this age of Kali." In this way the Lord especially
stressed reference to authoritative scriptures. In other words, one
should not whimsically accept a person as an incarnation but should
try to understand the characteristics of an incarnation by referring
to scriptures. An incarnation of the Supreme Lord never declares
Himself to be an incarnation, but His followers must ascertain who is
an incarnation and who is a pretender by referring to authoritative
scriptures. Real avatara does not want to be glorified (SB
4.15.23):

O gentle reciters, offer such prayers in due course of time, when
the qualities of which you have spoken actually manifest themselves in
me. The gentle who offer prayers to the Supreme Personality of Godhead
do not attribute such qualities to a human being, who does not
actually have them.

Purport:

"Gentle devotees of the Supreme Personality of Godhead know
perfectly well who is God and who is not. Nondevotee impersonalists,
however, who have no idea what God is and who never offer prayers to
the Supreme Personality of Godhead, are always interested in accepting
a human being as God and offering such prayers to him. This is the
difference between a devotee and a demon. Demons manufacture their own
gods, or a demon himself claims to be God, following in the footsteps
of Ravana and Hiranyakasipu. Although Prthu Maharaja was factually an
incarnation of the Supreme Personality of Godhead, he rejected those
praises because the qualities of the Supreme Person were not yet
manifest in him. He wanted to stress that one who does not actually
possess these qualities should not try to engage his followers and
devotees in offering him glory for them, even though these qualities
might be manifest in the future. If a man who does not factually
possess the attributes of a great personality engages his followers in
praising him with the expectation that such attributes will develop in
the future, that sort of praise is actually an insult."

Any intelligent person can understand the characteristics of an
avatara by understanding two features - the principal feature, called
personality, and the marginal features. In the scriptures there are
descriptions of the characteristics of the body and the activities of
an incarnation, and the description of the body is the principal
feature by which an incarnation can be identified. The activities of
the incarnation are the marginal features. This is confirmed in
the beginning of Srimad-Bhagavatam (1.1.1) where the features of an
avatara are nicely described. In that verse, the two terms param and
satyam are used, and Lord Caitanya indicates that these words reveal
Krsna's principal feature. The other marginal features indicate that
He taught Vedic knowledge to Brahma and incarnated as the
purusa-avatara to create the cosmic manifestation. These are
occasional features manifest for some special purposes. One should be
able to understand and distinguish the principal and marginal features
of an avatara. No one can declare himself an incarnation without
referring to these two features. An intelligent man will not accept
anyone as an avatara without studying the principal and marginal
features. When Sanatana Gosvami tried to confirm Lord Caitanya's
personal characteristics as being those of the incarnation of this
age, Lord Caitanya Himself indirectly made the confirmation by simply
saying, "Let us leave aside all these discussions and continue with a
description of the saktyavesa-avataras."